Road to Recovery
by DuskMoon15
Summary: As they search for their missing human friends, the Autobots stumble on three captured Cybertronians. It's only then that they learn their kids were killed almost immediately after their disappearance. But there's something these new Cybertronians aren't telling them, and their secret could change everything.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I know what you're thinking, and yes, this is a bit many stories for me to be publishing at one time. I honestly planned to finish this one and then post it, but the writer in me wanted to post it now. So, without further ado, _Road to Recovery._**

* * *

"Break on my signal," Arcee hissed into her commlink. She peered around the corner, analyzing the pattern in which the black-clad humans had arranged themselves in the hope that they would be able to see any oncoming threat. Their left flank, which faced the wall of the warehouse, was their weak point. If she could get Bumblebee to charge that side, the humans would scatter, and they could access the building.

Onlining her integrated weapons systems, she extended one of her blades. She let it catch the dim light cast by setting sun and twisted her forearm. The small patch of light bounced off of a figure shrouded in shadows on the other side of the narrow alley between buildings.

The yellow and black figure nodded, transforming into his alt-mode and heading towards the group of humans, who held their ground up until Bumblebee was about to crash into them before diving out of his way. Transforming back, he onlined his blasters and whirred at them with as much malice as he could convey in Cybertronian. He gestured for them to back away.

Lumbering out from around a corner, Bulkhead pounded his servos together before shifting one into a mace. There was a fire in his optics, and he let out a deep growl.

Arcee darted out, herding the humans into a bunker and pinning the door shut with a large crate. "Alright, let's find our kids."

Eight months ago, Jack, Miko, and Raf had disappeared from their homes without a trace. After confronting the Decepticons, it was quickly discovered that Megatron had had nothing to do with the vanishing of their young friends. That left the only logical culprit as MECH, who hadn't been heard from for a year prior.

Now, Bulkhead pried the doors to the warehouse open, tossing them aside as though they were no more than pieces of cardboard. He stepped inside and ordered the humans out before jerking his helm to indicate that it was safe for the others to come inside.

Inside the warehouse, there was a table large enough for a Cybertronian to lay comfortably on with similarly sized restraints on the edges. There were massive gouges taken out of most of the equipment, four on each, spaced evenly apart as though someone had swiped their servo through the metal without so much as a second thought. Processed, stale energon coated the floor near one corner where more gouges littered the floor and walls.

Searching for some sign of where their companions might be, the Autobots wandered about the building until they stopped near a locked door. It was as good a sign as any, so Arcee ripped out the keypad on the lock and slipped her digits into the crack, prying the doors open.

Immediately, a low snarl echoed around the building, and something leaped out of the shadows to pin her against the ground. She and the something grappled with each other, kicking and thrashing and struggling for the upper servo. They rolled about on the floor until Bulkhead and Bumblebee pulled the something off of her.

The something turned out to be white and gray mech with crimson optics—one of which was halfway offline—and energon leaking from his joints. He tried to rip himself free of the two Autobots, growling and snarling at them with as much ferocity as he could muster in his derelict state. There was a wild glint in his optics, hidden behind obvious terror.

"Get off of him!" screamed a voice as two more shapes darted from the shadows of the room, one a navy and black femme, another a red and orange mech. Both were younglings, their under-developed features betraying their immaturity. The femme activated her integrated weapons with a painful-sounding whirr, a pair of wire whips sliding from her forearms. "Let him go!" she ordered. She cracked her whips, which promptly came to life, white-blue electricity crackling down their lengths.

"He just attacked me," Arcee retorted.

"If you were him," muttered the red and orange youngling, "you would have attacked, too." He retracted his visor, revealing bright amber optics. Strangely, his battle mask stayed in place. Hesitant, he crept closer to Bulkhead and Bumblebee, keeping his helm low as though he were afraid they would strike him. "Nova. Nova, we're right here. We're safe, for now." He placed his servos on either side of the other mech's faceplate, touching their helms together.

The feral gleam in Nova's optics faded, and he relaxed in the Autobots' grip. A contented purr left his chassis as he nuzzled the youngling. He looked up after a moment, dipping his helm to Arcee. "What happened to the humans?" he queried, his words clearly carefully chosen.

"Occupied," the blue femme replied tersely. She signaled for Bulkhead and Bumblebee to let go of him. He and the other mech retreated to the femme's side as quickly as possible. Arcee made a show of deactivating her weapons systems, earning a wary glance from the femme, who merely cracked her whips again.

Nova stepped in front of the navy and black femme, holding his arm out to block her from charging the Autobots. "I don't think they're here to hurt us," he said, turning to face her. He stared at them with wide optics. "Actually, I think they're here to help."

"Yep. Definitely here to help," Bulkhead replied. He shifted his weight from pede to pede as though he couldn't let himself relax around these new Cybertronians. Beside him, Bumblebee whirred and clicked, gesturing around them, reminding them that they were looking for their human friends.

"They're not here." Arcee turned her back to the younglings, hoping that Nova would have enough sense to hold back the navy and black femme in the event she decided to attack. "MECH must have moved them."

"Um, if you don't mind me asking, moved _who?"_ The red and orange mech rolled forward, the wheels that acted as his pedes emitting a high-pitched whine as he did so.

The Autbots looked down, their shoulders and doorwings drooping. Arcee felt her spark sink at the realization that they had lost their kids, probably for good. She offlined her optics briefly and turned to face the youngling. "Our human friends were kidnapped," she admitted, "and we haven't seen them for almost a year."

Nova stiffened, and the femme averted her gaze, while the youngling stared up at the Autobots compassionately. "I don't know how to say this-"

"Your friends are dead," interrupted the femme, pushing Nova aside. She straightened to her full height, retracted her whips, and crossed her arms. "MECH killed them months ago."

Clamping a servo over her mouth and wrapping the opposite arm around her midsection, Arcee almost doubled over. No. No, not again. Not Jack. She couldn't have lost another partner. Her tanks churned, and she struggled to keep from shaking. Finally, she collapsed to her knees, coolant streaming from her optics.

A horrified chirp came from behind her as Bumblebee stared at the femme as if he couldn't comprehend what he'd just heard. His vents cycled rapidly, overcompensating for the sudden heat in his core that came with the shock.

Bulkhead could only gawk, shaking his head almost imperceptibly. "Miko…" he breathed.

Nova yanked her back and glared at her. He hissed something in her audial before growling, "We do not just say that!" He gave the Autobots a sympathetic glance. "I'm so sorry."

"Voltage can be a bit blunt," added the red and orange youngling. "She doesn't mean any harm by it, honestly." He rolled towards Bumblebee slightly before pulling back and rubbing the back of his neck. "We are truly sorry for what happened to your friends. You must be hurt."

Bumblebee clicked at him disparagingly, gesturing to Arcee, who hadn't moved since collapsing. He put a servo on the femme's shoulder guard and helped her to her pedes. A concerned chirp left his vocorder, and he pulled her into an embrace. When Bulkhead joined, lifting them both off of the ground, he beeped to complain that the other mech was crushing his internals.

Voltage, Nova, and the youngling turned to each other. They huddled together, touching helms, a silent conversation passing between them. After a minute, they turned back to the Autobots. "If you'd like, we could help you get revenge on these humans," Nova offered.

"Optimus wouldn't like that."

"They _hurt_ us," Voltage snarled. She leaned forward, her armor lifting to make her look bigger. "Cypher's barely out of his sparkling stage—he doesn't have any good weapons, for Primus' sake—and they made him fight me and Nova." She cycled her vents, coolant welling in her optics. Her entire frame began to shudder. "I- I tried to hold back, but they threatened to kill him if I did. How could you not help us pay them back for what they've done? After what they did to your friends, how could you not help us?"

"Look," Arcee said, stepping forward to place a servo on the femme's shoulder, "we're not happy with what MECH has done, but going after them won't fix what they did to you or to our friends. Holding a grudge will only make you feel worse."

"Words of wisdom," Bulkhead rumbled. "Someone's been taking lessons from Optimus."

Nova plucked Arcee's servo off of Voltage's shoulder guard and pulled the black and navy femme to his chassis. He stroked her helm comfortingly as Cypher slid over to embrace her and bury his helm in her chestplate. They were a solemn sight: three young Cybertronians who had been captured and tortured until all they had left to hold onto was each other.

"Come on; let's take you back to base." Arcee tapped her commlink, looking up as if expecting to see someone there. "Ratchet, we need a Bridge."

::Have you found the children?::

She glanced at the younglings. "… No, but I think you'll like what we did find."


	2. Chapter 2

As the green-gold vortex opened in front of them, the younglings drew back, their armor lifting and their optics narrowing. A pair of blades extended from Cypher's forearms, reddish liquid dripping from the ends, and he lowered his helm. Behind him, Voltage activated her whips again, while Nova's servos shifted into plasma blasters. They glanced in the Autobots' direction, gazes accusatory. "We can't do anything to you," Cypher whispered, his voice trembling—whether out of fear or anger, it wasn't clear. "Why would you call for backup?"

"Easy, kid, we're just calling our medic," Bulkhead assured them. He held out his servos, hoping to show that he wasn't going to activate his weapons systems. When he took a step forward, Voltage and Nova darted in front of Cypher and settled into fighting stances.

Then, Nova shook his helm, straightening back to his full height. "Sorry," he murmured as he nudged Voltage until she relaxed. He cycled his vents and suppressed a shudder. Something unrecognizable—something suggesting that Bulkhead's action had awoken unpleasant memories in the mech—flashed in his optics. "The humans have tried to hurt him far too many times. It's instinct now, really."

Voltage let out a protective growl, looking behind her as if to make sure the youngling was still there. Satisfied that he was, she offlined her optics briefly.

"Guys, it's okay." Cypher placed his servos on his companions' shoulder guards, pulling them back slightly. "The humans aren't here; no one's going to hurt me." He cast a questioning glance at the Autobots, as if seeking confirmation for his statement.

Bumblebee clicked at Arcee, gesturing towards the GroundBridge and jerking his head towards the younglings. He crept over to Cypher and the others, holding his servo out in front of him as if they were frightened cybercats rather than young Cybertronians. Whirring, he gave Cypher a once-over and beckoned to him.

Cypher looked up at Voltage and Nova for permission. At Nova's almost imperceptible nod, he rolled forward, doorwings twitching. "My- My altmode?" he repeated, incredulous. "I… I can't even remember what it looks like beyond being land-based. Voltage's is also land-based, but Nova's a flier, if you couldn't see his wings."

As a matter of fact, the Autobots hadn't seen Nova's wings. The mech had refused to let them step around him, baring his denta and snarling when they tried, as if he were afraid they would attack him when his back was turned.

Without warning, a huffing Ratchet stomped through the GroundBridge, throwing his servos into the air and exclaiming in exasperation: "Well, I can't leave the Bridge open all cycle!" Upon seeing the younglings, he stumbled back a step, optics widening. His jaw worked, and his vocorder released a series of Cybertronian curses.

"I know, right?" Bulkhead rumbled.

Voltage crept towards Ratchet, her helm low, whips dragging behind her. She walked in a small circle around him, taking in large quantities of air as she did so. Finally, she retreated to Nova's side and hissed in his audial something about not liking the smell of the new mech. When Ratchet moved to inspect Cypher, who was closest to him, her optics clouded, and she darted over, howling in what sounded like a foreign language. She flicked her whips to activate their galva-conductors.

Cypher stepped in front of her, holding his arms up. "He's a medic!" he shouted desperately. "He's a medic, Voltage! Look at his arms—see, heart monitor lines!"

Still blinded by something the Autobots didn't understand, the femme batted him aside, one of her whips curling around him and electrocuting him. He screamed at the contact, bringing Voltage out of her bloodlust. She staggered back, optics clearing, vents cycling. "Oh, God," she breathed, horrified.

Nova hurried to the youngling's side, pulling him into his lap and stroking his helm.

Voltage covered her speaker grille with her servos, choking on sobs. She quickly dissolved into tears. "I'm sorry. Cypher, I'm so sorry."

"Move!" Ratchet ordered, pushing past the others to kneel in front of Nova and Cypher. He reached out to take the youngling, hardly flinching when Nova bared his denta. "I can't help him if you won't let me get a good look at the injury."

At this, the white and gray mech gingerly handed his companion to Ratchet, standing so that he loomed somewhat threateningly over the medic.

Ratchet pushed him away, tutting. "I need space… and light." He turned Cypher's helm to one side to expose the scorch mark winding from the side of his neck cabling down his back. Upon scanning the small mech, he vented heavily. "The damage is mostly cosmetic; his paint was merely burned away. Unfortunately, the current overloaded his primary systems and forced him into shut-down. He'll be unconscious for a while, but there should be no lasting consequences."

Nova immediately snatched Cypher back into his arms, cradling the youngling against his chassis. His engine rumbled comfortingly, and he nuzzled the other's neck cabling. "Wake up," he murmured. "It's not time to sleep yet."

Keeping her helm tilted downwards, Voltage approached them. She hummed soothingly as her digits traced up and down one of his prominent audial receptors. There was still coolant leaking from her optics, though it had slowed considerably. "Please, forgive me."

Arcee walked over and placed her servo on Ratchet's arm. "What was that about?"

"Fear conditioning," the medic explained quietly, staring at the young femme in a mixture of sympathy and curiosity. "Whatever MECH did to her, they convinced her subconscious mind that those who smell of chemicals used in the medical practice will hurt her or her friends, triggering a violent, almost primitive response. It's a tactic I've seen used on prisoners of war countless times, especially on those captured by Decepticons."

"Can we break it?"

Ratchet shook his helm slightly. "She has to recognize that it needs to be broken before we can do anything."

That sounded like it would be quite the challenge, especially considering that they didn't know how long MECH had been holding the younglings. At this point, it was probably too sore a subject to bring up, so they would have to remain in the dark for now. Arcee cycled her vents and gave them another once-over.

There were three diagonal scratches on Nova's torso, each stretching from just above his hip joint to his shoulder guard. Directly between Voltage's shoulders and right below her neck was a chunk of missing armor, her protoform exposed. Bullet holes littered Cypher's chassis, a steady stream of energon leaking from each one.

Just what had MECH done to them?

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 **AN: I know, this one's short, especially for one of my chapters, but what's to come next chapter is going to be much more interesting, I promise you.**


	3. Chapter 3

It was a fight just to get the younglings to go through the GroundBridge. Voltage insisted that no one could be behind them, having declared to the others that they couldn't trust their saviors quite yet, and Nova unconditionally refused to allow Ratchet to be anywhere near the femme, claiming that it would send her into another fit, while Cypher stood rooted to the spot, looking like a lost turbofox kit. Finally, Arcee convinced the rest of the Autobots to allow the younglings to follow behind them and trust that they wouldn't simply run away.

Once they arrived at the outpost, a whistle came from behind them, and they turned to see Cypher gawking at the equipment, Nova staring up at the high ceilings, and Voltage kneeling to pick up Miko's abandoned guitar.

Bulkhead grabbed her wrist, his optics hard. "Don't touch that," he growled.

Obligingly, she set the guitar back down. She flexed her back, rotating her shoulder joints with a pained expression on her faceplate. Her narrow, slanted optics offlined as she stretched, and she laced her digits together. Upon noticing the Autobots watching her, she demanded, "What? I haven't had room to exercise my joints in forever, sue me."

"We'd been kept in that- that _box_ for weeks when you found us," Cypher added, touching her arm to indicate that she should relax.

"Those fraggers refused to give us energon unless we begged for it, and even then it was only scraps." Nova was shaking as he recalled what the humans had done. His servos shifted into plasma blasters, and he looked around wildly, expecting to see the black-clad MECH soldiers surrounding him.

Ratchet started over to him, but Voltage stepped in the way, a low, threatening rumble emanating from her engine. She set her jaw and held her arms out to block his view of the mech. Her optics narrowed further as he tried to step around her, and she seemed to be about one moment from throwing herself at the medic. "Stay away!" She pushed at his chestplate, struggling just to make him stagger back a step.

Picking her up and setting her aside, Ratchet tutted at her.

Although she started howling again, she didn't activate her weapons systems, instead electing to slash at him with her clawed digits. She darted around him and tackled Nova to the ground, keeping him pinned under her while she snarled and puffed out her armor.

Cypher rolled up behind her, put his servos over her optics, and began to hum soothingly. He jerked his helm at the exit, amber optics wide behind their visor. Once Ratchet complied, moving so that he was hidden behind a wall, he uncovered her optics and started running his digits up and down in the gap between the wheels positioned between her shoulders. "Shh, Volts, he's gone. Okay? He's gone now, see?"

"I can still smell him."

Nova squirmed underneath the femme, pushing her off of him. "You were crushing my wings." He clambered to his pedes and turned his head to examine his wings, which were indeed a bit crushed. His expression soured. "Now I'll never be able to find out if I can actually fly."

"Wait, you don't know?" Arcee stared at him, incredulous. How could a flier not know if they were capable of flight? Unless… he'd never transformed before. No, that was a ridiculous thought. She shook her helm to dispel it, muttering under her breath that of course he'd transformed before; he was clearly almost an adult.

"I just- I can't remember." Nova scrambled to recover. He sighed. "It's been so long…"

Heavy, thundering footsteps echoed about the outpost, and as the Autobots turned around, they took a collective step back upon seeing that it was their leader. Optimus towered over them, his faceplate creased with what appeared to be confusion. "Have you located the children?"

"Optimus," Arcee began, gesturing to the younglings, "this is Nova, Voltage, and Cypher." She cycled her vents heavily and steeled herself to deliver the news. It wasn't working. "When we arrived at the last MECH base, we found them instead of our kids. And… And we learned that MECH had killed Jack, Miko, and Raf months ago."

Optimus offlined his optics, bowing his head regretfully. Finally, he looked back up. "We will not allow this turn of events to keep us from our mission, though we mourn the loss of our young friends deeply."

There was silence for a moment before Nova hissed, "That's it?" He had started to shake again, gritting his denta. Immediately, Voltage and Cypher were beside him, steadying him. "That's _it?_ Those humans _murdered_ children in cold blood, and all you do is talk about it? What kind of protectors are you that you won't take out MECH for what they've done?" His voice had risen to an angered shriek, and he pushed his companions aside, stalking up to Optimus and standing on the tips of his pedes with crimson optics aflame.

"Peace, Nova." Optimus placed a servo on the young mech's shoulder guard, which only served to anger him more.

"Don't fragging tell me to calm down, Prime!" Nova screeched. He batted Optimus' servo away, wings twitching in agitation as he continued, "Your friends—the children you were supposed to take care of, for Primus' sake—were murdered, and the only thing you do is say you 'mourn their loss deeply.' Fragging pathetic!" He poked at the much larger mech's chestplate, his clawed digit leaving a scratch across the glossy finish.

Ever patient, Optimus merely allowed the youngling to burn out his anger before rumbling, "We are not the kind for revenge, young one. That is the way of Megatron, not of the Autobots."

And then Nova broke down in hysterics. He nearly doubled over laughing as the others looked on. "We saw your kids as they were dying, and they _begged_ us to kill MECH because you never came for them."

Cypher's optics narrowed, and his expression suddenly seemed to turn vicious. "The little one was cursing up a storm, screaming that he never should have trusted _you_ to rescue them."

Bumblebee whirred, horrified that Raf would lose faith in him so quickly. He threw his servos up and left the hub of the base, his footsteps hurried and staggered. He had to get out of here; hearing any more would make him physically sick.

"The girl cried her poor little heart out, saying that she wanted her parents—that she wanted to be back in Japan," Voltage snarled, her blue optics murderous. She strode up to Bulkhead, placing her servo flat on his chestplate and shoving with all her might. "And in the end, she hated you because you did _nothing_ to save her."

"Miko would never-" The green mech broke off, coolant welling in his optics. He shook his helm, unable to do more than that.

"And what about Jack?" Arcee had to stop herself from rushing Nova and shaking him until he gave her an answer.

Nova's laughter quieted down, and he gave her a wolfish smile. "He said he wished he had really left that day, because he wanted to _kill_ you for dragging him into this stupid war."

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 **AN: Optimus is freaking hard to write. He's not that expressive either in his words or in his actions, so it doesn't mesh with my writing style that well.**


	4. Chapter 4

"That's enough out of you," Ratchet snapped, returning from his hiding place. Adamant, he crossed his arms high on his chassis.

"Oh, but we were just getting _started."_ Nova slinked towards the medic, his helm low. His crimson optics were still ablaze, and he bared his denta menacingly. There was an air of satisfaction about him, as if the way he and his companions had driven the Autobots nearly to tears pleased him. "You see, we learned so much about you all while we were held by those humans." His voice had dropped to a soft growl. "How you promise so much but do so little. Because you're afraid of what it takes to win."

"Now, Nova?" Voltage purred, cocking her helm at Bulkhead.

The white and gray mech nodded.

She sidled up to the Wrecker and traced her digits across his shoulder guard. "You and I have a lot to talk about, Bulkhead." When he took a step back, she pursued him, her optics gleaming with something savage and almost feral. "What's the matter, big guy? Afraid of a little ol' femme like me?"

"Frankly," Cypher chuckled, his optics narrowing happily, "I'm shocked they ever trusted you." He broke into laughter, calling for Bumblebee to return so that they could have a chat. His frame was trembling in excitement, and the visor covering his optics glinted in the dim light from above. "Bumblebee! Have I got something to tell you!"

"Don't be like that," Voltage whined, doing her best to sound pathetic. She started to pace in a slow circle around him. "Don't you wanna go,"— she stopped by his audial and hissed—"dune-bashing?"

Nova retreated from his position in front of Ratchet and stopped in front of Arcee. "Want to see my holoform?" Before she could reply, he activated the holomatter avatar, and when the static settled, the blue femme gasped, stumbling away. In the palm of his servo stood Jack—or, at least, a facsimile of him—wearing tattered clothes and with a venomous expression twisting his features unrecognizably.

A recording began to play.

" _So, Jackson, tell me about the Autobots."_ The first voice was smooth and calm, completely unperturbed by the situation, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

" _What's there to say?"_ The second voice was unmistakably Jack's, but there was a different quality to it, one filled with repressed malice and anger. _"They lied. They said they would protect us, but they lied. We waited for them—waited for_ months!— _and they never came. Why would I defend them to you when you're practically the same?"_

"Stop it," Arcee choked, her vents struggling to intake air. How could Jack hate her? How could he believe that she and the others simply didn't look for them? "Stop it, please. Just stop it."

Obliging, Nova turned off the recording. "Do you understand what you did to them now, Arcee?" he queried, tilting her chin up with the tip of a digit. Crimson optics met azure. He pulled his servo back to his frame, his digit scratching her chin as it moved away.

"Please, young ones, stop this." Optimus held his servos out to accentuate the request, but he was largely ignored.

" _Nakama!"_ Voltage cried, throwing her helm back in amusement. "What a stupid concept! Like she should have ever considered you that close of a friend."

Cautious, Ratchet approached the younglings, taking care not to get too close to Voltage. "How do you know all this?" he demanded. As far as he was aware, none of the Autobots had relayed their designations to the newcomers, yet they already seemed so familiar with them.

"Isn't it obvious?" Cypher shot back. He tapped the side of his helm. "Their memories: files in our data cores. We have access to everything from the first day they remember to the day they died. And quite honestly, they were idiots to entrust their lives to you."

"Our own memories erased in favor of theirs," Nova added. His mouth had curved downwards in an irritated scowl. "We maintained our personalities and reflexes, of course, but we know nothing of ourselves. I can't remember what my real designation is; none of us can. We simply came up with new designations that we thought fit."

"We don't even think in Cybertronian anymore. I wouldn't recognize the language if I heard it," Voltage commented, her angered expression fading into one of mere annoyance. A growl built up in her chassis, and her optics took on that wild glint again. "Such stupid kids. Stupid for trusting you. Stupid for believing you would protect them. Stupid for-"

Then Bulkhead had her by the neck cabling, dangling her several feet above the ground. "Don't talk about them like that," he warned.

Instead of being intimidated, Voltage seemed pleased. She didn't scrabble at his servo or thrash in a vain attempt to free herself. Her optics narrowed further, and her voice had a vicious edge to it as she snarled, "That's it, Wrecker. Threaten me. Hurt me. Prove that you're just like MECH."

"Bulkhead!" Arcee put her servo on his arm, staring at him with a gaze like flint.

He grit his denta, but he set Voltage on her pedes.

If the femme hadn't had a speaker grille, she would have been grinning. She broke into wild laughter. "Oh, come _on!_ You, the level-headed one? Since when? One word could set you off! In fact, I know the word." Her laughter grew more unrestrained, more savage. She slid in front of Arcee, leaning in close to her faceplate. "Tailgate."

The designation hit the blue femme like a knife to her spark. Her vents cycled rapidly to try and counteract the sudden heat in her core. Her joints shook, threatening to give out. The younglings' laughter echoed in her audials; Nova and Cypher had joined in.

"Poor little Arcee," Cypher spat, "always losing her partners."

"Stop that!" Ratchet pushed them away from her, not even bothering to take care not to knock them onto the ground.

Bumblebee came storming back in, weapons onlined. He clicked angrily at Cypher, demanding to know why he and his companions would come with the Autobots if all they wanted to do was torture them.

" _Puh-leez,"_ Cypher retorted, waving a servo nonchalantly. "If we're going to play 'Twenty Questions,' at least ask me something difficult." He started rolling around seemingly aimlessly before coming to a stop in front of Optimus. "So proud of your Autobots, aren't you, Prime? Think you've taught them well?"

Optimus gazed down at the youngling, electing not to reply.

Cypher chuckled. "Do you know why we came with you?"

"Why we played innocent?" Voltage brushed past Ratchet.

"Well, I'll tell you." Nova leaned against the console. "It's quite simple, really. You see, the one thing we all know for certain about our pasts—our _real_ pasts, not the children's—is that we were Decepticons."

* * *

 **AN: I have an announcement. _Rules to Keep You Alive_ is officially coming back.**


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